FAA and Europe Renewing Air Traffic Vows

With a view to guaranteeing interoperability between the FAA’s NextGen air traffic management system (ATM) and the European Union’s Sesar (Single European Sky ATM Research), the FAA and the European Commission (EC) launched talks last month in Brussels aimed at drafting a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) in civil aviation research and development. The FAA delegation, led by Stephen Creamer, director of the Africa, Europe and Middle East office, met with a delegation from the EU led by Daniel Calleja, director of air transport. In a joint statement, the FAA and the EU said the future MOC will provide a pragmatic response to airspace users’ requests to develop international standards through the International Civil Aviation Organization. Negotiations are expected to be completed by June, with the MOC going into force early next year. The decision authorizing the EC to open negotiations with the FAA was adopted in October to avoid costly duplication of avionics. NextGen and Sesar have similar timetables.